Police fire Georgia officer recorded kicking handcuffed man

ATLANTA | A Georgia police officer who was praised as courteous and professional last year was fired Thursday, less than 24 hours after authorities say he kicked a handcuffed man in the head.

Master Police Officer Robert McDonald "stepped outside the guiding principles of our agency," a statement from the Gwinnett County Police Department says.

"What happened yesterday was clearly outside of state law and department policy," the statement says. "We do not tolerate actions that are not consistent with our core values or state law."

The incident was captured on cellphone video by a witness stuck behind the stopped car and the police vehicle. Police said the video is "very disturbing and speaks for itself" and was "very crucial to the investigation and it confirmed that the force used was unnecessary and excessive."

The police department also has initiated a criminal investigation of McDonald’s behavior. The results will be turned over to the county district attorney, who will decide whether to prosecute McDonald.

McDonald was hired by the department in August 2013 and graduated from the police academy in March 2014. A working phone number couldn’t immediately be located for him, and it wasn’t clear whether he has an attorney who could comment.

McDonald assaulted the man as he responded to a call to help a supervisor with a traffic stop in Lawrenceville, just outside Atlanta, around 4 p.m. Wednesday, police said in an emailed statement.

An ambulance crew then arrived and treated the handcuffed man, who has been identified as 21-year-old Demetrius Bryan Hollins.

McDonald’s shift commander initiated an "immediate investigation," placed him on administrative leave and took his department-issued gun, police said.

The video, which was posted online, shows an officer appearing to yell orders at a handcuffed man who then lies face-down in a left-turn lane of the busy intersection. A second officer runs up and immediately appears to stomp on the man’s head before both officers eventually pull him to his feet.

Hollins appears to have blood on his nose and lip in his booking photo.

Hollins was driving a red Acura Integra with no license plate and a brake light that didn’t work, and switched lanes three times without signaling, according to an incident report filed by Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni, the officer who first approached him.

Hollins yelled and began to "act strange," and based on that and the officer’s recollection of Hollins’ behavior during a previous arrest in August, Bongiovanni called for backup, the report says.

The officer smelled marijuana and was unable to verify any information about the vehicle, so he ordered Hollins out of the car. Hollins yelled and refused to obey orders and resisted when Bongiovanni tried to arrest him, the report says.

When Hollins tried to push him away, the officer used his stun gun on Hollins and then swept his feet from under him with his leg, the report says. When Hollins tried to get up, Bongiovanni used the stun gun again on him again and was then able to handcuff him, the report says.

The report mentions McDonald arriving at that point but makes no mention of contact between McDonald and Hollins.

The two officers are white and Hollins appears to be black, police Cpl. Michele Pihera said in an email.

Jail records show Hollins faces charges of driving with a suspended or revoked license, operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked registration, failure to signal, having a brake light that’s not in good repair, obstructing a law enforcement officer and having less than an ounce of marijuana. He was released on bond Thursday afternoon.

Police released McDonald’s personnel file on Thursday.

McDonald was "an excellent example of a team player with a strong work ethic" who completed his work on time, was always willing to help others and was courteous and professional with the public, Bongiovanni wrote in annual evaluation last June. He gave McDonald a rating of "often exceeds expectations" in many categories and no rating lower than "generally meets expectations."

McDonald received a three-year good conduct ribbon and a high shooter ribbon in August. He and several other officers were named officer of the month for November 2015 after they helped arrest two suspects following a robbery.

He had filed three use-of-force reports explaining why he used his stun gun or physical force in the course of his duties.

He faced a disciplinary loss of his good driving record after he rear-ended another car in his patrol car in June 2015. But the officer who responded to the accident said in a letter to the department’s safety review committee that it would have been very difficult for McDonald to avoid the wreck.

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